Multiple-compartment incubator.



G. E. ADAIR. MULTIPLE GOMPARTMENT INCUBATOR.

1 IGATION FILED JAN. 29, 1906.

AP L 93%,986, Patented Sept. 28, 1909.

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G. E. ADAIR.

MULTIPLE OOMPARTMENT INGUBATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1906.

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U. E. ADAIR. MULTIPLE UOMPABTMEIIT INGUBATQB. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 19.06.

934,986 Patented 891913.28; 1909.

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a f/AA CHARLES E. ADILIR, 6F BUFFALO, IKYEVI' YORK, AESSIGNUR T0 QYPHERS INCUBATOR COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW? YORK, A. CORPORATIQN GE NEW YQRK.

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Tool; whom dining/concern: v

Be ithnhwnthat l, ll-means E. Annie, a, cit-inch of the "United States, and resident of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of Ne'w li orln have invented certainne'w and useful 'inproveinents in Malt-iple-Compartmerit Incubators, of which the lollowing is .a specification.

tilated, and supplied with moisture, from coin'inon sources, and in which the tempera; ture of each compartment is independently regulable, but in which each. conuaartinent is i also under control byreason ofthe tenn ierat-ure clone or more other compartments, and alsoa device in' which means are provicl'ecl for the better 'ei'nov'al of the. trays for examination or for airing anzl cooling the eggs. r

in the drawings :-Fig'rre l front elevation of an incubator embodying this in.-

ention having compartments; Fin". 2 is I a vertical section on the line 2-2 oi l 1g. 1,

showing also the devices for receiving; the

egg trays from the separate incubator C0111 pertinent Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of a portion of the same device shown in. Fig. 1, including elevations of suflicient portions of the heatingancl controlling apparatus to illustrate the same; Fig. is a clia of the electrical" mechanisms and circuit-s of the tic/vice; and Fig. 5 shows enlargmi end and side elevations of a detail.

This example of this invention is shown as en'iploying hot air. for the heating medium. The air heater Which supplies the hot air for this heating purpose is capable of direct control by lowering or reducing its heating; power, and in addition the admission otthe heating fluid to each COYHPHIt ment is also capable of increased. reduction or. complete exclusion.

' This form of the invention. is intended to be used in a suitable room or inclosure, Which is heate l by the warmed air. that has passed through the. incubator compartments, and this warinecl air surrounds the Whole incubator device and tends to maintain the heat therein. This air is then drawn on? from the room with thesame speeol as the air is Specification of Letters Patent. Pa'iignat fi S45 2 Application files. January 29, 1906. Serial No. 5898,333.

MULTIPLE-COMPARTMENT INCUBATQR.

carried into the incubator compartments so jthat the air discharged is in direct and necessary relation to the air introduced into the incubator coinna-rt-inents for the purpose of heating it. hit the same time-cool. air" carrying a proper percentage of moisture is delivered. directly to each incubator conipa'rti'nent in orcler .to maintain tlte probe! degree of humidity therein for hatching pu'r poset.

In the drawings 1 is an air heater preferably heated by a gas burner :2 connected with a servlce PEER 3 controlled by a alve 4.

Air is drawn into the heater througha suit able air inlet and is discharged,therefrom through the main 6. The smoke pipe 7 carries away the products of combustion, and, prei e'ably for economical purposes, passes through the room coi'itaining the incubator. A casing S smirouncls the pipe Y and has an inlet opening at its bottom and near to the floor 9 of the room, and the air heated in the space between the smoke pipe and the casino; 8 tends to rise and thereby to carry out too air from the room 10. The air heater 1 may conveniently be placed in the cellar, or beneath the floor 9. The incubator is preferably setup on legs 11 in oroler to avoid the iihpurc or colder 'air which naturally lies next to the floor. In the presehtfcase, as above stated, the incubator shown is composcd oi six separate compartments 12, 13, ll, 15, 15 and 17. In the present case'the conipz-u-tinents are arranged in two vertical tiers of three horizontal compartments each. The hot air main 6 extends along preferably parallel. to the floor for a portion-of its length, and is ofsuiiiciently great area to carry freely all the air which needs to be clelivered to the incubators. -from the main 6 are conduits to each. of the compartments or the incubator, and in the present casethese conduits are conveniently made by providing lateral means 18 ancl 19, extending vertically from the main 6, and adapted to deliver air to the three compartments in each vertical tier. Lateral pipes 20, preferably horizontal, extend from the vertical mains l8 and 19,- as the case may be, into the upper portion of each incubator coin artment, and each pipe 20 is controlled y a-'..

valve 2-1 adapted to close the said pi e and. to prevent the admission of air theret into the incubator compartments.

Each incubator coinpartinealias avsloermuch giving access to the egg chamber, in which f is an egg tray 23 adapted to slide in and out of said egg chamber on suitable guides 24, of which that at one end of each incubator compartment is shown in Fig. 2. In or near the bottom of the compartment are one or The air conduits lead into the compartment above the said diaphragm so that air introduced into a compartment by the conduit 20 passes downward through the porous diaphragm, through the egg tray, and out through the orifices 25.

The air conduits 20 are connected to fresh air mains 26, connected with the outer air by any suitable means such as the lateral vertical conduits 27. and a connection 28 therefrom to each compartment. By the fresh air mains, air carrying the normal percentage of moisture of the outer air is carried to and meets the inwardly flowing current of heated air that passes through the conduits 20, and thus a percentage of moisture is added to the heated air, so that a. higher degree of humidity is maintained in the egg chamber. Of course, the air passage in the main. 26' or in its connection to an incubator compartment can be opened, or closed, artificially if desired; or suitable means, such as a thermostat, may be provided for controlling the heat supply of each compartment, and independent means for controlling the heat supply to the whole incubator may also 1 be provided.

Before proceeding to the description of the controlling mechanism, a means for handling large egg; trays from this multiple compartment incubator will be described.

A short distance from the front of the incubator a framing 29 is provided having horizontal guide bars 30 and 31, between which. slides a supporting frame 32, that is adapted to be extended from between said guide bars into the same plane as the guides 24 for the egg trays, so that when the frame 32 is extended, the egg tray 23 for which it.

is provided may be slid out of its compartment and directly on the frame 32, and then the frame 32 may he slid back into position, leaving the passage way 33 between the framing 29 and the-incubator entirely free. The egg tray when thus placed upon the frame 32- is in position for handlin the eggs and for airing them. Thus there is provided a movable egg tray supporting device adapted to receive the egg tray directly from any compartment.

For the heater 1, any suitable, quiclrlycontrolled heater may" be employed, but, has stated above, in the present case a gas heater is illustrated, having a controlling valve 4 for the gas supply that is controlled by an above. or below a normal.

eaaesa yond the needed throw of said valve. Thus,

the motor 34..may be capable of only a certain number of revolutions in each direction, sufiicient to throw the valve to its extreme open position and to its extreme closed position. In the closed position-of the valve 4, a small amount of gas is preferably allowed to pass, so as to keep the burner 2'continuously lighted with a very small flame.

Other equivalent means for relighting the burner may be employed for this mechanism.

Means are provided for operating the mowt in one direction to open the valve 4, and thus to provide the full heat of the gas burner, when the temperature in any one compartment has fallen below a selected minimum; and other means are provided for closing the valve 4, when the heat in all the compartments has exceeded aselected maxi-' mum; further means are prov ded at each compartment to control the heat supply thereto independently of every other compartment; and further means are provided for excluding each compartment from the system.

In F g. 4 isshown a diagram of the mechanism and circuits which coiiperate for the purposes .just described. The inotor 34 is of any suitable type, such as the type commercially known as double-wound. A source of electricity, such as the battery 40, is connected to a common connection to both windings of the motor. As is well known, when current is shunted through one of the windings, the motor is revolved in one direction, and when the current is shunted through the other of said windings, the motor revolves in the other direction. To the winding adapted to rotate the motor in a direction that opens the valve 4 is attached the wire 41 of the opening circuit, and to "the 'winding that turns the motor in the other direction to close the valve 4 is at tached the wire 42 of the closing circuit. A common return 43is connected to the battery for both the opening and the closing circuits. In each incubator compartment is a thermostatic device, in the present instance shown as a thermostatic coil 44 that makes eitherof two contacts 4?, 46,

according as the temperature rises or falls A battery 47 energizes these circuits, and is connected tothe thermostatic coil and to a damperarm '48 that opens and closes the damper 21, and also makes either oneof two contacts, pref- -erably by mercury cup and point connecployment ofelectrical force after the first action thereof. A switch 59 is inserted in .the circuit ,of the magnet 54 so that it may be cut-out and the latch 55 may hold the arm 48., sofas to maintain its damper 21 closed, thus cutting out anyone compartment from the heating system. Dampers 60 may be employed in the lateral, Vertical pipes 18, in order to prevent the passage of the heating fluid therethrough. The contacts 45 and 46- may be adjustable, in ordercto set each thermostat-for the desired normal and extreme temperatures.

What I claim is':- 1; In an incubator having a series .of

- separate compartments, separate heat supwhen the temperature in all the compart-' ments has risen to a selected degree and for ply to each compartment, independent heat controlling means for each compartment, and heat controlling means operative when the temperature of all the compartments has reached a desired point.

2. In an incubator having a series of separate compartments, separate heat supply to each compartment, independent heat controlling means for each compartment, means for reducing the general heat supply increasing said general heat supply when the temperature has fallen to a predetermined degree in any one of the compartments.

'3. In an incubator having a series of compartments,'a-common source of heated air, conductors for conveying thesaid heated air to the respective compartments, a fresh air. conduit connected to eachconductor adcompartment.

jacent to the connection of the latter with ductors for conveying the said heated air Jr},

the respective compartments, a fresh air conduit connected to each conductor adjacent to the connection of the latter with the compartment and with the open air outside said inclosure, and means for controlling the warm air supply to the respective compart- .ments, whereby the inmoving warm air draws the fresh air in front the fresh air conduit and the two are mixed as they-enter the compartment. p

5. In an incubator apparatus, an incubator having a. series of separate compartments, a hot air main, connections therefrom to each compartment, a fresh'air conduit leading from the-outerair directly to each compartment,- independent means forcontrolling the admission of hot air to each CHARLES E. ADAIR.

Witnesses:

A. W. PLUMLEY, E. J PLUMLEY. 

